On June 2, 2023, the Riverside Superior Court granted final approval of the settlement and entered a final judgment in the lawsuit called Freeman v. County of Riverside, Case No. RIC2001772. A copy of the Order of Final Approval and Judgment can be found here. The deadline to object to or be excluded from the Settlement has passed. Class Members received their refund checks in July 2023. A second payment will be mailed in mid-December 2023 to Class Members who cashed their first refund check or contacted the Settlement Administrator prior to November 17, 2023.
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A proposed settlement has been reached with the County of Riverside. The lawsuit claims that Riverside County did not follow California law (Welfare and Institutions Code Section 903 and 903.45) when it charged and collected juvenile detention fees from parents and guardians. The lawsuit also claims that Riverside County's collection practices violated parents' and guardians' constitutional due process rights.
Riverside County denies it did anything wrong but has agreed to settle the lawsuit and refund a portion of the detention fees collected.
If you made payments between December 2016 and April 2020 to Riverside County or the Enhanced Collection Division of the Superior Court (ECD) for time your child spent in juvenile hall or another juvenile placement, you will receive a notice of the settlement. If your tax refund was taken or your wages were garnished during the same time period to pay for those fees, you will receive a notice of the settlement. A copy of the notice in both English and Spanish is available by clicking on the Documents tab above. If you did not receive a notice in the mail and you believe that you are a class member, you should contact the Settlement Administrator at (833) 472-1997.
If the Settlement is approved, class members will receive a partial refund of their total payments to Riverside County for detention fees in their child's juvenile case. You do not need to file a claim in order to receive your refund check. You must notify the Settlement Administrator only if you have an address change.
This website provides information about the lawsuit and the Settlement. It also tells you about your rights. Before the Judge approves the Settlement, you can check to see what was agreed to in the Settlement. You can also ask any questions you have. If you disagree with anything, you can tell the Judge. You can also ask to not be part of the settlement. If you disagree with the settlement or do not want to be part of it, you must send a form to the Settlement Administrator postmarked no later than March 23, 2023. (For more information, read Frequently Asked Question #15).
To learn more, visit the Frequently Asked Questions tab or Documents tab.